Image: Vince Burlapp
On January 8, information was leaked from the Chinese media that Tesla had already developed a new car model, and would soon be ready to begin production at its Giga Shanghai. The affordable compact car is expected to be produced and delivered in 2022.
According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, some of the best works of art in the world were created in China, so he believes that projects created in China will also be popular around the world. The Chinese have always been distinguished by originality, speed, and intelligence, so China is a great place to develop, create, and implement the most original and unexpected solutions.
At the ceremony of handing over the first made-in-China Model 3s to owners, which took place on January 7, 2020, in Shanghai, Musk announced that Tesla plans to establish its own R&D center in China, where the company will create a car for the whole world. Musk said:
“Something that would be super cool...so we’re going to do it...is to try to create a China to actually design an original car in China for worldwide consumption. I think this will be very exciting."
As early as mid-January 2020, Tesla began recruiting employees for the new development center and called on them to help the company build Chinese-style cars.
Today, the Chinese media, citing reliable sources, reported that the new Tesla car model already was approved as early as September 2020. Product verification is expected to be completed in March 2021, with production and first deliveries scheduled to begin in 2022. Tesla will build its new model at Giga Shanghai.
According to sources, the chassis of the car is based on the Model 3 chassis, which will also speed up and simplify the start of production. Perhaps this is what made it possible to develop a new model so quickly. Estimated price will range from RMB150,000 to RMB200,000 ($25,000 - $30,000).
When Tesla opened recruitment for the R&D center in mid-January 2020, the team used an image of an interesting new concept car. We've never seen anything like it before. Whether Tesla will develop something similar at the new Chinese R&D center, or it's just a picture that has nothing to do with Tesla's future projects, we do not know. But the new China-made model is sure to be as stunning as the entire Chinese Tesla project.
© 2020, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
